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Setting Semantics

If you’re making your own e-books or using a meatgrinder service, don’t forget about semantics.

Semantics are basically instructions to the e-reading device: “This page is the title page, this other page has the copyright information, there’s a dedication page here, and this one down there has your table of contents.”

The e-book will function without semantics altogether, and some of those details are just a way of adding subtle polish, but there’s one that makes an immediate difference to a reader’s first impression of your book — the text reference (where the book should “open” on first reading).

When you load an e-book to your reading device and open it for the first time, what makes the better impression? A glimpse of the oh-so-sexy copyright page (which often happens to be the first page up after the cover)? Or the first page of the actual content, so you can dive right in and start reading?

Sadly, I see a lot of books that don’t take advantage of this chance to make an awesome impression. Don’t let yours be one of them—make a deliberate choice about where your book should open for the first time. Do a little Googling to learn how, or ask a professional e-book formatter for help.